OSWEGO – A groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday at Wrights Landing Marina, marking the beginning of the construction as part of a $16 million waterfront project.
Guest speakers at the ceremony included New York State Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State Commissioner of the Office of General Services RoAnn M. Destito, and New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, along with Mayor Billy Barlow. Also in attendance were Senator Patty Richie and Assemblyman William Barclay, along with numerous city officials.
Starting Monday, the marina will undergo an extensive reconstruction process. After a complete razing of the land, the marina will be lifted two feet in height to avoid future flood damage from high Lake Ontario levels. The park will also include increased consumer enhancements to better serve boaters and the community.
Funding for the project comes from the New York State Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI), created last year by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to help Lake Ontario shoreline communities distressed by the increasingly high water.
Oswego is one of the eight counties identified in the five REDI regions that have experienced major flood damage since the implementation of Plan 2014, by the International Joint Commission (IJC) in January 2017.
“This funding is going to make a significant difference for the city of Oswego and our waterfront and it wouldn’t be possible without their continued support and the whole concept behind the REDI Commission and REDI Funding. The city of Oswego has sustained over five and a half million dollars of damage to public space from the high water and associated flooding in that short of a time frame,” Barlow said. “There is no way a community the size of Oswego with our limited resources would ever be able to repair that damage, not to mention move our waterfront area forward in such a significant way. Leave it to Gov. Cuomo and his partners to identify and see the opportunity that was presented in 2017, and take what could have been an absolute nightmare and a showstopper for this community and turn it into one of the best things that have ever happened to this community.”
Hochul expressed her appreciation of Oswego, reflecting on her trip to the area last weekend with her husband, coupled with the delight of visiting familiar places.
“This waterfront has such incredible potential. Yes, it has an important role in its commerce and industry, and we need the port to be strong. But just to see the great potential, just to recapture it for the people of this community; that’s why we’re here today,” Hochul said. “So why not build back better? “That’s our philosophy coming through the REDI Commission last year, and now it’s our philosophy as we emerge from this darkness known as the COVID-19 pandemic. We will build back better, and this community is even poised for more greatness, with projects like these to reclaim this waterfront, pedestrian walkway, get a gorgeous marina, [and] be welcoming to transient boaters.”
Dominquez and Destito both added their sentiments about the energy, passion, opportunities and unlimited possibilities available to the Oswego community as the waterfront projects move ahead.
“The project that we’re launching here today at Wrights Landing won’t just help protect the marina and the surrounding properties from future floods and other extreme weather events, but it’s really going to increase opportunities all the residents and all the tourists across the board to really take full advantage of this spectacular waterfront,” Dominguez said.
“The people who live and work in Oswego and the neighboring Lake Ontario communities should be confident that back in the State Capital you also have a strong advocate in Governor Cuomo,” Destito said. “No one has been pushing harder than he has to get these projects completed.”
Wright’s Landing Marina is slated to be completed by July 2021.
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